Penélope Cruz reflects on her many passionate roles

The Canary Islands

The Canary Islands

"I've done more than 50 movies in my career, but this is the first time I'm 100 percent involved with the whole process—fund-raising, casting, everything," Cruz says of Ma Ma, the Spanish drama she's been shooting with director Julio Medem on the sun-soaked Canary Islands.

Anouk Aimee in A Man and a Woman, 1966

Anouk Aimee in A Man and a Woman, 1966

On top of her role as the film's producer—a first for the actress—she stars as Magda, a tenacious mother who faces a horrific tragedy. "For me, creating a character is like making soup," she says in her famous accent, citing Meryl Streep and Anouk Aimée as cinematic role models. "I put in each ingredient one by one, and then I let it breathe." Cruz cherishes this preparation phase. "If you don't put in the time, the magic doesn't happen," she explains. "It's one of the reasons I work less now than I did before." Another reason is motherhood. "I used to do four movies a year; now my first priority is to be with my kids," says Cruz, who spends her off time at home in Madrid with husband Javier Bardem and their two children, Luna and Leo, ages one and three.